Camas Discovery Day 2014

Join the Kootenay Native Plant Society for Camas Discovery Day on Sunday, May 11, 2104 (Mother’s Day) at Twin River Park, Castlegar. Discover why the camas lily is more than a captivating spring wildflower.

“Millennium Park is a camas hot spot. This beautiful edible lily has connected people to the West Kootenay landscape for thousands of years.”Dr. Brenda Beckwith

Together, we will discover more about the ecology, cultural history and stewardship of these regionally significant plants. We will have colouring and flagging activities for kids, pollinator observation, and opportunities for citizen scientists to take notes and photos to help us understand how camas flowering times are changing in response to climate change.

Ethnobotanist Dr. Brenda Beckwith (pictured here with her young friends and fellow camas lovers, Amelia and Benjamin Stewart) at Camas Discovery Day 2013.

Dr. Brenda Beckwith is the leading academic expert on camas in Canada and is the Project Advisor for the locally based Kootenay Camas Project. She teaches in the School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, and also runs Beckwith Landscape Consulting, specializing in environmental education, ecological gardening, and ethnobotanical landscape interpretation.

She has been researching camas for over 15 years and has been sharing her passion for plants for nearly 25 years. She is thrilled to return to the West Kootenay for another Camas Discovery Day!

Thanks to the sponsors of Camas Discovery Day:

Camas with bumblebee

Camas is a magnet for pollinators, especially bees, in the early spring.

Camas Stewardship

Some things you can do for camas:

The best place for camas is where it is! DO NOT dig it up.

Do not harvest camas to eat. Death camas is very similar and often grows with common camas. It is extremely poisonous!

Grow some from seed. We can provide small amounts of locally collected seed and instructions of how to grow it.

The camas subspecies found in the West Kootenay is distinct from that found in other regions of British Columbia. To conserve the unique genetics of our populations:

we discourage the import of bulbs and seed of Camassia quamash from other regions.

we do not support the distribution of camas seeds or bulbs outside of the collection area, other than for research.